Sunday, 30 August 2009

Can you believe that we're just about to enter the final quarter of this year? Pretty soon, it'll be time again for the holiday collections and after that, spring again.

Anyway, here's another sale to tempt your wallets. Tangs will be offering 12% rebate to its cardholders and also giving away $10 Beauty vouchers with a $100 beauty purchase from 1-3 September. First 500 Citibank Platinum cardmembers can also get $40 voucher with $400 purchase.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching which means mooncakes are on sale everywhere. These are usually sinful bean-paste cakes that come in a variety of flavours. If you're in Singapore, you simply must try Bakerzin's Black Sesame Truffle Mini Snowskin mooncakes (usual price $45 but in August, it's only S$28.65 for a box of 8). These are incredibly flavourful without being too sweet and has a white chocolate core that just melts in your mouth. Amazingly they don't get frozen hard even when kept in the freezer.

Just received this mailer from The Body Shop on an exclusive gift for Star Loyalty members with purchase of $12 plus a 30% discount from 3-6 September. Time to haul the Pretty Pearlescents collection!

Star Loyalty members enjoy 15% discount at all times, compared to 10% for normal members. I think it was after I completed all the stamps on the card (16 stamps, $30 purchase gets you 1 stamp) that I became a Star Loyalty member.

Kiss will release a new Skin Fit Foundation UV on 24 September in Japan. The fragrance-free foundation has SPF27 and PA++, plus sebum-absorbing powders for a natural long-lasting finish. It also has hyaluronic acid to keep skin moisturised. Available in 4 shades.

For oily skin ladies, I highly recommend Kiss' Mat Chiffon UV Whitening Base which is great at keeping skin matte and provides some coverage without accentuating or sinking into pores.

Jill Stuart will release a new Moist Silk Powder Foundation SPF15 PA++ on 11 September in Japan. Available in 5 shades, it is formulated with Pure Crystal Powder and Moist Fit Powder for a silk chiffon-like half-matte finish that is long-lasting and does not oxidise. According to Voce magazine, it has sheer coverage. Like most Jill Stuart products, it is has a Crystal Floral Bouquet aroma.

This will retail for 3675yen for the refill and 1575yen for the compact. There will also be a limited edition base makeup kit (8400yen) available for which you can choose either the Moist Silk or Smooth Silk Powder Foundation. The kit also includes the Pure Lasting Makeup Base and a zip pouch. I hope the Moist Silk will be an improvement over Smooth Silk, which did not work well at all for me.

Also just read on another blog that Jill Stuart makeup has been launched in South Korea. Wonder when it will ever make it to Singapore?

Friday, 28 August 2009

Another lemming alert: the Body Shop's Precious Pearlescents fall makeup collection has also just been released at the stores here. If you like shimmery, glowy baked mineral blushes/bronzers, then you will probably like new blush trios (S$36.90). The shimmer in these is pretty intense with #2 Warm Sunset being more pigmented than #1 Cool Dusk, a sweet baby pink. These are very generously sized at 8g each, which means they'll probably take forever to use up. The eyeshadows (S$28.90) are lovely too with good color payoff but the shades are not that unique.

I'd probably cave on the two blushes soon, just waiting to see if the Body Shop will offer any promotional prices on them! If not, I'd just use my Star Loyalty 15% discount.

MAC's Makeup Art Cosmetics collection has been launched exclusively at Isetan Scotts. The counter is offering makeover sessions with your look to be "immortalised on canvas by an accomplished artist" after the makeover for $120 (fully redeemable for products).

I was very tempted to get On Display and Young Thing lipglasses as well as Full Body lipstick. Full Body and On Display are deep plummy reds that I always have a soft spot for while Young Thing looks like a lovely shimmery nude. The eyeshadow quads were too blah for my liking. The green-toned quad Photo Realism looked the most interesting but I think Chanel's Murano quad beats it hands down in terms of texture and the color combination.

Despite the attractive offers on at the Isetan Beauty Festival, I left empty-handed tonight as there were just too many items that I was tempted by! Except for RMK's Autumn Mystique collection which turned out to be a disappointment. The blush and eyeshadow palettes have some chalky shades with poor color payoff.

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Picked up the October issue of With magazine (S$18.10) at Kinokuniya yesterday. It comes with a Jill by Jill Stuart lunch tote made of a polyesther/PVC blend. It is fairly roomy with a broad base and does not feel flimsy. I was dithering over whether to get this as the floral print looked somewhat loud for my taste but the magazine itself looked like an interesting read so I decided to get it.

Kinokuniya is also currently having 20% off storewide for cardmembers until 31 August, so this week is a good time to stock up on mags at Kino.

The model is wearing the matching dress.

I also picked up these organisers at Kino, which are perfect for storing my mags. Too bad the 20% discount does not apply to stationery!

The Isetan Beauty Festival is on again from 28 August to 10 September. From 28-30 August, you can get a 10% beauty bonus voucher with minimum purchase of $100 and every subsequent $50 purchase of cosmetics and fragrances. Also, look out for the new fall makeup collections from RMK (Autumn Mystique), Lancome (Declaring Indigo), MAC (Makeup Art Cosmetics), Bobbi Brown (Ivy League) and more.

Check out the full newsletter here for the full list of events, promotions and GWPs.

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

The reason why I didn't pick up anything at Esprique Precious was because I was actually more interested in checking out the Coffret D'Or summer collection which has also just been launched at the Kanebo counter in Takashimaya. I have not been enamored with Coffret D'Or since it replaced my beloved T'estimo, but I fell in love with the new Color Mixing Eyes quads (S$54) which have a lovely shimmer in a colorful array of shades that are very easy to wear. I ended up getting #4 Lavender Purple mix, although I was also very tempted to get the blue/green quad.

The Full Keep Gel Liner DB-04 (S$38) looks like a standard dark navy in the pot but when applied, the lovely flash of midnight blue with sparkles is an absolute beauty. It also comes with its own brush.

After reading that Eco-Tools brushes have recently arrived at the Watsons in Ngee Ann City, I stopped by to check out the brushes which are supposed to be environmentally friendly and great quality at a very affordable price with numerous raves on MakeupAlley.

There is only a small display next to the Ardell shelf. There is a 5-piece brush set (S$29.90) as well as another 3 or 4 brushes that are sold individually. I picked up both the set as well as the last foundation brush (S$11.90). The bristles are 100% synthetic Taklon while the handles are made of bamboo. They felt incredibly soft, similar to the Body Shop's brushes, which are also synthetic. I haven't used these yet so I can't say how well they perform but I'm hoping they will be better than my Etude House brushes, which were also very soft but have an annoying tendency to shed.

Finally dropped by Takashimaya today to check out the launch of Esprique Precious. The counter was doing brisk business thanks to the slew of Kose Sekkisei skincare bundles on offer as well as special offers for Esprique Precious such as a free foundation case with every purchase of a powder foundation refill (S$49).

The lipglosses were also going for the special price of S$30 (usual price S$35). These looked very attractive with a good mix of mattes and intensely sparkly shades so I may go back for these. The eyeshadow palettes are S$54 while the singles are S$14. Looks like a great start for Esprique Precious in Singapore!

The GWP was a vanity case with built-in mirror with purchase of S$130.

Here are pics of the Jill Stuart Happy 5th Anniversary Mook which will be released on 29 August in Japan. The vanity case measures 9.5×19×12cm and the mirror is 13.5×9.5cm. This looks quite worthwhile as the mook costs only 1365yen (about S$21) in Japan.

Monday, 24 August 2009

Jill Stuart collectors may be interested in the upcoming magazine freebies. The October issue of With magazine will come with a Jill by Jill Stuart lunch tote. Due out on 28 August in Japan but it has already arrived in Singapore on Wednesday 25 August! Do get your copy now!

The November issue of Spring magazine, due out on 23 September in Japan, will come with an adorable Jill by Jill Stuart pouch measuring 12x19x6cm.

Jill Stuart is also releasing another mook on 29 August that will come with a vanity pouch with an in-built mirror. The pics are from this Japanese blog.

Also coming up in September are a couple of fashion mooks. First, roomwear brand Gelato Pique celebrates its first anniversary with a 84-page mook (￥1200) that comes with a tote bag and scrunchie, to be released on 10 September in Japan. Liz Lisa celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with its first mook showcasing its fall/winter '09 collection. The 164-page mook comes with a lace zip pouch and will be released on 1 September in Japan.